Cultural Animateur

Image by Guido Castagnoli

I started out as a gymnast and at the age of 14 won a scholarship to train in Russia, before going on to become the youngest ever member of the GB women’s gymnastics team competing around the world. Being a gymnast, however, was not something that I had ever dreamt of being – I just liked doing it. I didn’t really dream of becoming anything – I just was happy being! Until the age of 20, that is, when I had the rather strange conviction that I had to be a poet. I say rather strange because although I loved literature, poetry wasn’t necessarily something that had ever been an over riding passion above and beyond anything else. The conviction was so strong however, that it was like an invisible piece of concrete in my resolve. Nothing would budge it (and never has) even though at the time I didn’t even know what I really meant by ‘to be a poet’. I certainly didn’t want to be the kind of boring person most people imagine poets to be (someone self obsessively droning on!) Maybe it was that I wanted to live a free life that I imagined true poets to lead?

“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.”
Camus

It wasn’t until years later that I realized what kind of poet I was dreaming of being. I discovered that the Greek definition of poet is one who creates!

Poetry (ancient Greek: ποιεω (poieo) = I create)

That’s me I thought! One who wants to create – poetic installations , projects, books, songs, happiness – ultimately a poetic life! This website introduces you to some of the things that have been created as a result of this – please do get in touch if you would like to work together on any of these projects – or on something new entirely!

Some of the places I have appeared include: the United Nation’s Palais des Nations; the V&A; Royal Festival Hall; Venice Biennale opening ceremonies; Shakespeare and Co, Paris; Glastonbury and Womad music festivals; La Struga Macedonia; Festival de Poesie Havana and Genoa; European Voices Helsinki; Ledbury and StAnza international poetry festival.

Partners include: National Poetry Day; the British Council; the Royal Shakespeare Company; Apples and Snakes; and numerous other local and national museums, galleries and festivals in the UK. As a children’s author/book designer and creative literacy expert I am invited through Authors Abroad to schools as far a field as China, the Middle East and Borneo.

The Poetree is a copper tree on whose branches grow the most strange and wonderful objects imaginable. People are invited to pick something off the tree and be serenaded individually with a song , story or poem their object inspires. The Poetree has appeared at festivals and venues as far a field as Mexico and inspired the children’s book The Word Bird which is being published in 2016.

Word M’art – Poems in a Tin

Poems in a Tin first appeared on the shelves of the Co-Op supermarket for National Poetry Day. The idea was then developed for a commission to transform an empty shop into Word M’art – a supermarket themed interactive poetic installation.

Phone a Poem

Dial up a song, story or poem and leave a piece of your own written work in the Poetry Directory. The Phone a Poem was showcased at Cheltenham Festival of Literature with a specially commissioned collaboration with poet/novelist Lars Gustafsson in Sweden.

The Object Project

The Object Project invited members of the community to bring forward objects that were precious to them and that had a story to tell. These then inspired the creation of an interactive Cabinet of Curiosities and the creation of new songs, stories, poems, and animations/films that could feature in it. The cabinet had a tiny cinema screen and also a ‘juke box’ for recorded memories and stories.

Poet on the Platform

Commissioned by First Great Western Trains , this project saw the Poetree being set up on station platforms to entertain travellers on their journeys.

Tip of your Tongue

Tip of your Tongue was the first performance poetry festival in the UK and was described by the Arts Council as “fresh , exciting , creative and inspiring – a new festival star”. Other festival event management has included the Sea, Salts and Sail Festival which is biennial and takes place in Mousehole, Cornwall.

Poetry Postie FM

An interactive Poetry Postie radio show was commissioned by The Arts Council and Apples and Snakes and featured as part of Penwith Radio’s programming during 2014/15.

Bed of Roses

The Bed of Roses show toured such diverse venues as village halls in Cornwall to Palazzos in Italy!“Deliziosa !“ Il Secolo